Coffee Liqueur – To replace 2 tablespoons of liqueur, use 1/2 to 1 teaspoon of chocolate extract mixed with 1 teaspoon of instant coffee, which has been mixed in 2 tablespoons of water. Can also substitute expresso, non-alcoholic coffee extract, or coffee syrup.

Cognac – Juice from peaches, apricots, or pears.

Cointreau – Orange juice or frozen orange juice concentrate.

Creme de menthe – Spearmint extract or oil of spearmint diluted with a little water or grapefruit juice.

If you are like me you are always looking to figure out how many this and that’s there are i.e How many cups of cornflakes are needed to equal 1 cup of crushed flakes. I recently came across this site which although not complete, may be of help.

Ah yes, another pork chop recipe! You can’t blame me because pork is one of the best things in Mexico. I don’t buy the chops, I buy the loin and slice it to my desired thickness and then freeze what I am not going to use. Since I did not want to use the Smothered Pork Chop recipe, I decided I wanted to bake them for a change. Having no Shake and Bake, although it is available here, I searched the ‘Net for a homemade version, et voila! This recipe was very good and the Shake and Bake can be kept in a sealed jar for 1 to 2 months…good also with chicken…

Homemade Shake and Bake

3 cups bread crumbs – I used the Japanese Panko

1/4 cup vegetable oil

1 tbsp. salt

1 tbsp. dried onion flakes

3 tsp. paprika

2 tsp. sugar

1 tsp. garlic powder

1 tsp. pepper

1/2 tsp. cayenne I omitted this

1/2 tsp. dry parsley

1/2 tsp. dried basil

1/2 tsp. dry oregano

Mix all ingredients in a large bowl until evenly mixed and the crumbs are no longer clumpy from the oil.

Dump into a Mason jar or plastic container in the pantry for 1 to 2 months.

For Pork Chops – Preheat oven to 425 degrees. Dump some of the Shake and Bake in a large Ziploc bag. Rinse the chops in cold water. Let excess water run off. Place pork chops one at a time in the bag and shake until coated. Remove the chop from the bag, shaking off excess breading. Place on a cookie sheet lined with foil. Do the other chops. Bake for 15 to 20 minutes. Remember, pink is good in pork these days!

So so hard to find here in Mexico, but if you cannot find it try one of these four substitutions – (my “go-to” is #4). You can usually find horseradish sauce….but pure horseradish is hard to find unless you find the actual vegetable…

Just when we wanted to have tacos for dinner I realized we had no seasoning. Thankfully I found this on the ‘Net, submitted by Bill Echols. It certainly beats buying that packaged stuff and is simple to make as needed. I used the whole amount on 700 grams of beef, which I had precooked with some chopped onion and garlic instead of using onion and garlic salt. We try to limit salt intake…..

Taco Seasoning

Ingredients:

1 T chili powder (I used pepper flakes)

1/4 teaspoon garlic powder (I used chopped garlic in the meat)

1/4 teaspoon onion powder (I used chopped onions in the meat)

1/4 teaspoon dried oregano

1/2 teaspoon paprika

1 1/2 teaspoons ground cumin

1 teaspoon black pepper

If you just use the spices and not the chopped onion and garlic while cooking the beef, store the spice mixture in an airtight container until you want to use it.